Is India ready for Uniform civil code?
“The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.” -Article 44 in The Constitution of India, 1949.
Clearly with 14 full time prime ministers that India has seen since Independence; none of their governments could make this fundamental Article of our constitution a reality.
But with triple talaq off the table, this epic debate of Uniform civil code is back in picture. The question that underlies is; whether now is the right time for Indian law makers to abolish all the personal laws and bodies; including the infamous and unconstitutional, nikah halala and hurriyat. History failed to pass the Uniform civil code, so is this codification possible now? Let’s take you to where it all started.
The great liberal, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rooted all this commotion in 1948. Apparently until then, it was only in God’s hands to make laws. Thanks Ambedkar Ji, you’ve freed God of some his said duties. Dr. Ambedkar rightly brought the bill to the then PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s knowledge. Nehru was initially reluctant to pass a uniform code for all religions in India. He feared that Muslims might consider it unnecessary interference in their religion, especially since after partition, they were only minority. Albeit, he agreed for the Hindu code bill.
For Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains in India, a bill was passed in the parliament during 1955–56. On account of facing deter resistance; Hindu code bill was broken down into four acts:
• Hindu Marriage Act
• Hindu Succession Act
• Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act
• Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act
It is absurd to imagine the kind of India had it been without these laws. Well, it still is quite irrational as there aren’t these provisions for Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews in our country. Muslims are being governed by Muslim personal law board and they are coping by hindsight. For instance, Shah Bano, a 60-year old divorced woman from Indore, implored the court for maintenance from her husband. Supreme Court gave the verdict in Shah Bano’s favor, which led to a wild protest from many sections of Muslims. Thereafter, Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime minister of India, sponsored a law called the Muslim women’s (Protection of Rights Upon Divorce) act bowing down to outraged Muslim orthodoxy. What could be worse, the outcome of this law landed women out from the purview of our country’s civil code. Hence this law is often criticized for violating the principle of ‘equality before law’, on ground of religion.
Women not only from the Muslim community are fighting for their rights; Mary Roy, a Keralite Syrian Christian and mother of Arundhati Roy, fought the inheritance law of her community when her father passed intestate. Travancore Christian Succession Act 1916 then stated that only sons shall be entitled to have the whole of the intestate’s property divided equally among themselves. Mary invoked the Article 14, which briefly is ‘equality before law’, and fought this lawsuit. The top court then affirmed that the Indian Succession Act 1925, which recognized equal succession rights for daughters and sons, would now apply to Christians in Travancore and Cochin (now Kochi) as well.
It is evident that the communities excluded by the Hindu code bill are facing inequalities. Apparently for the Hindu women, there is at least a judicial system in place that they can reach out to in any case of injustice.
Here are some of the flaws that persist to this day in Muslim personal laws-
• According to a survey the average age of marriage for a Muslim girl in India is 16.7; since there isn’t any age barrier or any such law; child marriages and teenage pregnancies are prevalent.
• A Muslim daughter has half the share in her parents’ property as that of a Muslim son.
• The All India Muslim Personal Act has laws such as Nikah halala, a law that demands a woman to sleep with a stranger to remarry her divorced husband.
• Even worse after divorce, a Muslim man is allowed to take his wife back, twice, like it’s a whim game.
• There isn’t any provision for “Sapinda relationships”.
So, where are we? In this age where everybody is modernizing, where even the most orthodox of older generations accede to the just social reforms; few sections of some communities are still adhering to the cringe-worthy laws. Hindu code bill was passed in 1956 for the equality of Hindu women. So, what about our Muslim women? And Oh! it is 2017. Have we not kept the minorities deprived of equality for almost over 6 decades?
Hindu Marriage Act ensured monogamy, luckily for Hindu women. Because most of the religions that permit polygamy entitled only men to have more than one wife at the same time. Which means, previously there was no law for the women. This law focused on the right to equality, thence eliminating the unjust treatment upon women.
Hindu Marriage Act sets an age limit to marriages, to regard it as unlawful when it’s solemnized under the age of 21 for men and 18 for women. Besides, having an age barrier helps ban child marriages, a persistent issue. The law also prohibits “Sapinda relationships” and allows inter-caste or inter-religion marriages.
Hindu Succession Act provides equal rights between males and females in the legal system; by giving the daughters of the deceased equal rights with sons in their property, subjecting them to the same liabilities. So earlier, it was only the sons’ rights to properties of the parent. Great!
The government is not imposing laws on anyone. Quit hesitating and welcome the positive changes people! Of all, the Muslim women deserve the right to equality, especially in a country whose constitution is based on democracy and secularism. The Muslim personal law board will keep justifying under false pretext. It’s high time for every educated individual in India to stop avoiding all this in fear of getting their hands and minds dirty. Because trust me, it already is filthy. Form opinions; judge what is right and wrong, root for Uniform civil code.
Fill out this open questionnaire form by law commission of India to express your opinions, email at lci-dli@nic.in — http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/questionnaire.pdf
The deadline for filling up the questionnaire has ended; but the law panel would still entertain the responses for a unanimous call.
When we do not differ amongst each other based on our religions; why should our laws do? Our government should sack the laws which are regressive for the development of our society. India deserves liberalism, for everyone; we want one law and one voice.
#OneNationOneLaw